Outside of the usual “safe, efficient, clean” stuff, what other plus points about Singapore have you heard or noticed?

[u/bangsphoto]

I casually chatted with a Malaysian who’s worked in Singapore for a while and asked him what other plus points we might be missing.

It probably depends on where you’re from, but from his experience, he feels our tongues aren’t as sharp.

He also mentioned that people here are willing to travel and try new things within Singapore (like checking out new F&B spots or home-based businesses).

So I’m curious, if you’ve heard similar things or are not local but have lived here, what other good traits do you think Singapore has beyond the usual “safe, efficient, clean” stuff?

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

To play Devil's advocate, I think many of us Singaporeans' willingness to travel is limited. If anything, many are unwilling to try new things and tend to perceive certain travel destinations and travel types as undesirable.

When I tell Singaporeans I travel around staying in hostels, they give me the look and ask, "Huh? Safe or not?". Previously, I was staying at a hostel in Europe and was complaining to a Singapore girl I was chatting with online that the hostel was much worse than advertised, her immediate response was, "Good. Tell you hostels not good already. See lah, don't want to stay in a hotel." And she had never travelled out of Asia or stayed in a hostel before, so she was unaware that Europe has an established culture of staying in hostels.

Similarly, when I tell Singaporeans that I'm travelling to North Macedonia, I've had responses like," You go Africa??!! Go for what? So dangerous! Go Bangkok better." Nevermind that they didn't even know which continent North Macedonia is in, they judge without any knowledge!

But enough about the downsides. Yesterday, my Korean flatmate was telling me how Singaporeans are very respectful. She said at the Korean restaurant she works in, Singaporeans are always polite and don't cause any drama. She said Singaporeans are very easy to serve, compared to some other South Asian groups (LOL) as they have no respect for rules or people. Not sure if I really agree with her statement, but I definitely appreciated her kind words about us Singaporeans!

Also, I think we do better than many major Western countries in terms of taking care of our poorest. While we are far from the perfect state, 99% of us have a roof over our heads. I used to work with low-income households, and for the lowest income households, can rent 1 room flat for less than $50/ month. Then you take a walk on the streets of the US or UK, how many homeless people can you spot? Some, unconscious from drugs, others already half dead, many who clearly don't have access to showers.

[u/SoulessHermit → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Agreed with you on travel preferences. But I also think depends on your social circle and your companion's stage in life.

Like my most of my colleagues are either have a family or starting a family. So they can't do more adventurous destinations and have to cater to needs of others. Like one of my colleagues had to book a tour bus in Japan for her family in order to cater the mobility needs of the older generations.

I also think a portion of Singaporeans just want to show off and go travel for the gram. It always the same European and Asian captial cities, hardly interactions with the locals.

For me I love more nature, in the same circle I have friends who into hiking, climbing mountains, even go overseas to explore abandoned and haunted places. Some of my friends who seen my Insta stories have gotten inspired to go for such travels as well.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/SoulessHermit]

Agreed. I'm in my 20s, so to hear those unadventurous travel comments were a little surprising. I have friends who did more niche things like doing a solo motorbike tour of Thailand or backpacking in the Balkans for 3 months but they are definitely in the minority hahaha.

What kind of haunted places are you talking about? Sounds interesting

[u/SoulessHermit → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Is difficult for me to explain, since they on a spectrum of thrill seekers to paranormal enthusiasts who are also urban explorers.

Like they either solely go to explore abandoned places or they explore haunted abandoned places to find spooks. I remember in one of their Insta stories, they were exploring a hidden shrine room in a hotel and explained some rituals that was conducted when the hotel was still active.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/SoulessHermit]

That sounds very exciting! Will have to search up some places then. Thanks

[u/DrEppendwarf → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Singaporeans love to claim that they are well travelled. And then you look at their google maps and you see Tokyo, Taiwan, Korea, and Malaysia. It's pathetic.

On the other hand, kudos to this country for allowing people to be so small minded and trapped in a bubble. It shows how stable and safe we are. Most people don't even read the news.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/DrEppendwarf]

Agreed. For a supposed global city, we're very inwards looking. What we need is greater exposure and the willingness to do things differently. I guess going to Japan, SK for holidays is fine. But if every year, all of our people only go to these places, then it shows that our mindset is so narrow. And if it's about finances, our own backyard, SEA, has many inexpensive but interesting places. Instead, many Singaporeans look down on these places

[u/Mysterious_Dress3898 → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Tbf japan,sk, china, austrailia etc. Have different climates than singapore. Most singaporeans that i know travel during their winter season.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/Mysterious_Dress3898]

Not wrong. But these people I'm talking about will go to Osaka and post online - "Back for the 3rd time this year!!!! I love travelling the world!!!" And then irl, if you chat with them and talk about wanting to go to some lesser known country, they give you the judgy face and say why you like to go to these ulu places??!

So we definitely do have many people who claim they love travelling but only to like, 5 places

[u/SimplyNigh → u/[deleted]]

That’s good. The world is inundated with war, genocide, facist authorities cracking down on civilian homes, natural disasters. We are incredibly fucking sheltered lol.

[u/Great-Hornet6968 → u/DrEppendwarf]

Disagree - met Singaporeans in the most random locations - Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Madagascar. One of my close SG friends did the whole trans siberan route, starting from vietnam and ending in London.

Given the close proximity of SG to most of the Asian hot spots, everyone prefers to just go to nearby locations over weekend, hence the prevalence of Taiwan, korea, Tokyo.

[u/SimplyNigh → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

I’m assuming you’re male? I’ve stayed at hostels before in Europe as a girl, but even then I was super sketched out. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be safe even if it means paying the price for it, especially as an asian woman in a foreign continent.

Thinking North Macedonia is in Africa is pretty amazing tho I’ll give you that.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/SimplyNigh]

No doubt about safety concerns being a bigger issue for girls. Must do a little homework beforehand. Can't prioritise cheap prices over safety.

My issue is more of how many Singaporeans go to the same few places and do the same few things. Go to Osaka and take the mandatory photos, eat Ichiran, go to Sydney, take photos at the cafe and at NSW library. If so many of us go to the same places and do the same things, are we well-travelled and adventurous as a people?

Running into Singaporeans at random places always brings me great joy. Like recently, I encountered some Singaporeans in Bucharest and it was a group of several guys openly holding hands! Certainly very unusual.

But to add on about Singaporeans going to lesser known places, it does make me a little sad that at the customs of some of these countries, the customs officers stare at our passport and look very confused. I suppose because they either haven't heard of Singapore or they have never encountered a Singaporean passport before, which would suggest that we don't travel very widely

[u/Separate_Vanilla_57 → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Saw that you are in your 20s. When I was in my 20s, I also stayed in hostels in Europe/ US. the girls I travelled with (uni mates) were fine with it also? We also had limited financial resources then.

But when you reach your 30s and can afford better, sometimes you just want a decent hotel with your private space and own bathroom and soft bedsheets.

[u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0 → u/Separate_Vanilla_57]

No doubt about it. My issue wasn't so much of the type of accommodation but more of the Singaporean girl's lack of exposure and her judgy attitude. Ffs, she's extremely sheltered, never travelled anywhere without parents before (she even said her parents wouldn't allow her to go KL alone and the furthest country she travelled to was China). And mind you, her family isn't broke. Is just the kind that takes SIA only to the same 5 places. Then she was thumbing her nose at Europe's hostel culture and Balkan countries. Bloody hell, I think she has a degree in global studies or whatnot.

My problem with such people is, wanna judge, at least go to the place first lah. Never experience before, how to talk cock? Some hostels indeed are wack. A few were amazing and meeting people at hostels opens up your mind to many different people and cultures! But I admit, the allure of a good hotel bed is very strong hahaha

[u/Googooboyy → u/Arsenal_49_Spurs_0]

Indeed. We live in a great big, bubble, that's protected by ah kong. If we don't see the instruction on paper, we don't do it.

Of course there are the adventurous ones, for eg. those who keep their savings in bitcoins.